52 



" In the Chittagong district the silk is worked to a very 

 limited extent, the insects being tied on plum trees from 

 which the cocoons are gathered. The thread is made into 

 twine for fishing purposes, and is considered strong and 

 lasting. About Rs. 300 worth of this twine is sold 

 annually in the local bazaars. 



" In Gya the silk is worked to a small extent in certain 

 wild tracts of that district, while in Shahabad the quantity 

 produced during the year amounts to about 9,000 lbs. 



" In Pooree the Eria worm can be seen on castor-oil 

 plants, and is believed to be common, though entirely ne- 

 glected by the natives. The worm is reported to be very 

 common on the Government estate of Khoorda, where the 

 plant on which it feeds, the ' nalbeli,' said to belong to 

 the moonseed order, grows in abundance." 



The following particulars are derived from a letter, also 

 accompanying the previously mentioned despatch, to the 

 Collector of Poonah, from W. C. Taylor, Esq., Settlement 

 Officer, Khoorda, dated Khoorda, 30th December 1 879 : — 



" I forward some specimens of an Attacus found very 

 plentifully in the Khoorda jungles. 



" The caterpillars feed on a very common plant called 

 the Nalbeli, the botanical name of which I have not been 

 able to ascertain, but Dr. Stewart thinks it belongs to the 

 moonseed order. 



" The worm may be called a monthly worm, as there are 

 many broods in the year, and I have now a brood of worms 

 which are just spinning ; the cold weather has, however, 

 delayed their coining to maturity very much. 



" This species is very hardy and easy to rear, either in 

 confinement or in the open ; and as they produce so many 

 crops of good silk in the year, and there is such an abun- 

 dant supply "of food, I am sure it would pay well to 

 encourage production of this silk in Khoorda, and I can, 

 if desired, procure a bale of 50 lbs. of the cocoons. 



" The inhabitants of Khoorda appear to be quite ignorant 

 of the value of the silk, and, so far as I can ascertain, the 

 cocoons have never before been collected on the estate. 



" Even the Tusser cocoons are not collected to any 

 extent, and the cultivation of Tusser is not known in 

 Khoorda, although the value of Tusser is known, and there 

 are reelers and weavers of the silk on the estate/' 



The following are extracts from a letter, which also 

 accompanies the foregoing despatch, to the Officiating 

 Secretary to the Government of India Home, Revenue, and 

 Agricultural Department, from S. O. B. Ridsdale, Esq., C.S., 



